Maitreyee Mishra, Communicating the Environment: The Case of Orissa 1

Communicating the True Ecological Cost of Development:

Addressing Development and Environment in Orissa,

India

Maitreyee Mishra

Lecturer,

Manipal Institute of Communication, Manipal University,

Manipal- 576104, Karnataka,

INDIA maitreyee.mishra@manipal.edu

Paper submitted for International Conference on

Future Imperatives of Communication and Information for

Development and Social Change

December 20-22, 2010

Abstract

Orissa is one of India‟s poorest states, with a per capita net State Domestic Product in 2006/7 of Rs. 20,200 which is 35 percent below the

all-India average (Panda, 2008). The State has witnessed drastic changes in its environment over the last few decades which include rising

temperatures, large-scale deforestation, alternating droughts and floods, cyclones, sea erosion and agricultural decline. The State‟s desire to

develop has dwelt on rapid industrialisation in view of deepening poverty and increasing economic competition in a globalised Indian

economy, and is based on extraction of its rich natural resources. This has in turn led to the inflow of investment and investment promises

with numerous proposed projects across the State, such as Vedanta‟s bauxite plant at Niyamgiri and the steel plants at Paradeep (Posco),

Kalinga Nagar (Tata), Keonjhar (Arcelor-Mittal) and many others. These projects have seen opposition by the local people and environmentalists, with examples of substantial achievements made by local tribes in the case of Vedanta‟s project at Niyamgiri.

The skewed relationship between Orissa‟s fragile environment and the pressures of forwarding development, have essentially meant that the

environmental and ecological aspects have been grossly compromised. Orissa‟s resource-rich districts are inhabited by tribes for whom the

forests, hills and rivers are Gods and the very essence of their culture is rooted in an innate connectedness with the Earth. The opening of

Orissa‟s natural resources has both ecological and social implications. Displacement comes with visible and invisible costs. The visible

factors can be addressed with a monetary dimension. Invisible factors, however, are complex and cannot be calculated; these include

emotional, cultural, social and spiritual dislocation.

Since the mid-nineties, a groundswell of resistance has been seen against such displacement, which the State has quelled with an iron hand,

as evidenced in the killings in Kashipur and Kalinganagar. Furthermore, grassroots organisations that represent the voices of the affected are

being repressed by declaring them „enemies of the State‟. The paradigm of quick industrialisation is actively supported by all political

parties, the middle classes and significant portions of the media.

Orissa‟s desire to industrialise contrasts with efforts to preserve and protect its environment and the people dependent on it. Communication

lies at the heart of this discourse, for it has the potential to shape our understanding and perceptions of the environment and thus define how

we behave towards it (Milstein, 2009). It can also help create an upward flow of information and opinions, increase transparency and

inclusion, bring issues for discussion and debate, and in turn influence policy. The mass media as vehicles of green communication have the

potential for representation of environmental causes. Orissa‟s mass media have largely echoed dominant political philosophies and this has

also been in the case of the environment. Upward communication in the case of the environment has been absent in media representations

and reporting.

This paper takes a conceptual approach, while drawing from previous research and case studies to explore the nature of coverage and

representation of Orissa‟s environment in the mass media. It also looks at the nature of information flow in the media and the kind of

enviromental dialogue taking place. The purpose of this paper is to establish the various dimensions of environmental communications: the

mass media and construction of the „environment‟ in Orissa; the gaps in communication and representation in the media; and the role of

horizontal and bottoms-up approaches in environmental communication. Through these discussions, the paper explores the future of

environmental communication, the challenges of communicating environmental risks and damages, particularly when dealing with the

complex relationship between development and environmental conflict.

Keywords: environmental-development conflict, tribal communities,

displacement, empowerment, communication

Maitreyee Mishra, Communicating the Environment: The Case of Orissa 2

“You must teach your children that the ground beneath their

feet is the ashes of our grandfathers. So that they will respect

the land, tell your children that the Earth is rich with the

lives of our kin. Teach your children what we have taught our

children – that the Earth is our mother. Whatever befalls the

earth befalls the sons of the earth. If men spit upon the

ground, they spit upon themselves.”

- Chief Seattle of the Duwamish Tribe to the new “Americans”

1

Introduction

Orissa, located in eastern India, is a land of contrasts. It has a history dating back to over two

thousand years with stories of trade with South East Asia during the ancient times. Endowed

with rich natural resources, a long coastline and abundant forests, it is also culturally diverse.

Apart from mainstream Oriya culture and traditions, interior and western Orissa are inhabited

by hundreds of tribal peoples, each with their own culture, gods, traditions, and practices. In a

land where all beliefs need to be respected and uniqueness celebrated, unfortunately, the

adivasis or the tribal peoples have always been the “other.” As it is with all cultures, these

peoples form the periphery- with alien customs that must be integrated with mainstream

culture and society. The dominant political philosophies in the post-World War period upheld

the importance of westernisation, industrialisation and modernisation, and hence the need to

„develop‟ all peoples. Indigenous peoples, in all parts of the world “found themselves

increasingly incorporated within the world economy and subjected to national development

goals and programmes" (Wong, 2008). In Orissa, as in other parts of India, the state and

country‟s needs remained superior and hence lands were acquired from many adivasi

communities, displacing them.

Over the last fifty years or so, modernisation has instilled a new culture in Orissa society, as

elsewhere. The pressures of development have been immense and so has been the need to

1 Taken from Chief Seattle‟s speech cited in Kerry-Ward (2009).

Maitreyee Mishra, Communicating the Environment: The Case of Orissa 3

intensify economic growth, abandon traditional beliefs and customs and in turn, ignore the

needs of the environment. Neo-liberal reforms in the 1990s have further intensified the need

for economic growth. Orissa though rich in natural resources and culture, is one of India‟s

poorest states, with a per capita net State Domestic Product in 2006/7 of Rs. 20, 200 which is

35 percent below the all-India average (Panda, 2008). Observers have claimed that the state‟s

poverty is a result of several factors- some of these can be due to the political establishment

and lack of political will. Many strongly argue that its poverty is a result of its climate- the

last fifty years in particular has seen a rapidly changing climate and ecological change. The

dominant view is that poverty is a result of under-utilisation of the state‟s vast natural

resources, while some serious thinkers belief that this would in turn lead to serious ecological

destruction and irreparable damage to the very people who inhabit those lands containing the

vast natural resources.

This paper looks at the dichotomy of the complex development-environment debate in Orissa

with the various contrasts as will be discussed later in the paper: rich resources, poor state,

ecological crisis, government focus on industrialisation and extraction of mineral resources,

and the environmental and human costs of all industrial and development activities. Through

three case studies, this paper looks at indigenous peoples in Orissa who have been at the

receiving end of all development and environmental conflicts- displaced from their lands;

their livelihoods snatched; their gods and beliefs belittled; and it addresses the recent

grassroots movements and uprisings against forced displacement and destruction of the

homes. The paper also looks at the kinds of communication, dialogue and networking

evolving from these tribal peoples‟ movements; and studies in the role of the mass media in

these debates.

Maitreyee Mishra, Communicating the Environment: The Case of Orissa 4

Orissa’s erratic climate and environmental change

The last few decades have seen huge changes in Orissa‟s climate. Observers and people of

the state have noticed that the weather is no longer predictable and the seasons have changed

such that spring and winter have almost altogether disappeared. This has meant that the

monsoons are erratic and summers are long and excruciating. Even coastal Orissa which was

moderate during summer now witnesses extremes in temperatures rising up to over 40

degrees Celsius during April and May.

Rising temperatures and erosion of seasons are not the only climatic changes Orissa

experiences. The state has been witnessing alternating droughts and floods, cyclones and heat

waves together with extensive coastal erosion, very evident in coastal areas such as in Puri.

Use of pesticides and fertilisers during the Green Revolution vested on increasing agricultural

output has been a contributing factor to agricultural decline, with loss of traditional farming

systems. In 1998, over 1500 people were killed due to a heat wave (Agarwal, Sharma and

Narain, 2001). The frequency of cyclones has also increased. 1999 witnessed the highly

destructive “super cyclone,” one of the worst in hundreds of years, which lasted for almost

three days. Shiva (2002) notes that the 1999 cyclone, which caused the deaths of over 20,000

people, destroyed 1.83 million houses and uprooted 80 percent of coconut trees, was a “man-

made ecological crisis unleashed by the combined impact of climate change, industrialisation

and deforestation.” Two years after the cyclone, in 2001, Orissa was faced with a severe

drought, followed by floods during monsoons that affected 7 to 11 million people (Shiva,

2002; Agarwal et al., 2001). The cycle of drought and flood has been replayed since then

with floods in 2008, affecting over 600,000 people. 2010 too has been a year of droughts due

to delayed monsoons (rainfall deficit was almost 35 percent around July), resulting in 50

percent paddy crop loss (Patnaik, 2010; NDTV, 2010). This was followed by flash floods in

August 2010, affecting some 85,000 people mostly in Southern Orissa (Outlook India, 2010).

Maitreyee Mishra, Communicating the Environment: The Case of Orissa 5

These climatic changes have contributed to loss of paddy crops (rice being the main

agricultural crop). The district of Jagatsinghpur in coastal Orissa was one of the worst affect

due to the super cyclone- today, it has the lowest forest cover in the state (Forest Survey of

India, 2009). Destruction of mangroves, which could help reduce the impact of cyclones, for

aquaculture has further aggravated the situation (Shiva, 2002; Mahapatra, 2006).

The Government of Orissa Climate Change Action Plan (2010), stresses on the government‟s

desire “to ensure that climate change does not undermine the economic development which is

now underway.” It also stresses on the importance of economic growth and “increased

emphasis on power, mining, energy intensive industries and infrastructure” (Government of

Orissa, 2010). Ironically, the same report recognises that “mining projects are threatening

forests, livelihood of people dependent on forest based economy” with a high carbon

footprint (Government of Orissa, 2010). It is clear that despite the impending ecological

crisis, the Orissa government has been bent on economic growth based on extraction of

mineral resources.

Industrialisation and the State

Since the 1950s the various governments in the state have focused on industrial growth and

agricultural growth based on the intensive inputs. The Green Revolution furthered the notion

of industrialisation of agriculture and abandonment of traditional practices to increase

agricultural output. Industrial growth remained in state control till the 1990s, when

liberalisation and economic reforms stepped in and put emphasis on privatisation. Post-

liberalisation, the shift has been on extraction of Orissa‟s rich natural resources by opening

up the state‟s resources to private players, both national and international. The paradigm of

quick industrialisation is supported by all political parties, the middle classes and the media.

Maitreyee Mishra, Communicating the Environment: The Case of Orissa 6

The pressures of competing with other states in a globalised Indian economy have been

immense and the government has largely looked at the inflow of investment. Over the last

several years, the government has signed over 43 Memoranda of Understandings (MoU) with

national and international industrial houses to set up industrial plants across the state

(Amnesty USA, 2007; Pandey, 2008). These include UK‟s Vedanta Resources Inc and Rio

Tinto, Canada‟s Alcan, South Korean Pohang Steel and Iron Company (Posco), Arcelor-

Mittal, Jindal, Tata and Hindalco, making it a total of three thousand billion rupees of

investment “launched” and another 11,000 billion rupees “in the pipeline” (Pandey, 2008).

Some larger projects that are underway are Vedanta Resources bauxite plant at Lanjigarh in

Kalahandi district, Posco‟s steel plant at Paradeep in coastal Orissa, Tata‟s steel plant at

Kalinganagar and Arcelor-Mittal‟s steel plant at Keonjhar.

The reason for such investment and investment promises lie in Orissa‟s rich bauxite, chromite

and iron reserves. Sixty percent of India‟s bauxite reserves are located in Orissa; the state also

has large reserves of iron ore, chromite and coal (Government of Orissa, 2005). Orissa has a

forest cover of 31.38 percent (Forest Survey of India, 2009); most of it is well spread out

except in the coastal belt. Most of the mines are located in the forest areas. These forest

regions are inhabited by numerous tribes. The areas mentioned above- Lanjigarh,

Kalinganagar and Keonjhar are in the forest belt, with a concentration of tribes who are at the

risk of being displaced from their ancestral lands.

The State and Orissa’s tribal communities: past and present

The government‟s focus on rapid industrialisation has been based on extraction of mineral

resources. The state-controlled Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation of Orissa

(IDCO), established in 1981 has the responsibility of acquiring lands to develop industrial

Maitreyee Mishra, Communicating the Environment: The Case of Orissa 7

infrastructure so that foreign and national industrial houses would be interested in investment

in Orissa. This has been a further developed role post liberalisation where the corporation

acquires lands and sells it to private players. It has been doing so, and as discussed later in the

Kalinganagar case study, this has posed certain problems.

Most mineral resources are located in interior areas of Orissa, which are ecologically pristine,

inhabited by several different tribes, each with customs and cultures that are intrinsically

unique to that region. These tribes have gods and beliefs which are different to mainstream

Orissa religious beliefs and traditions. The Dongria Kondh, for example, that live in the

Niyamgiri hills believe that their god, Niyam Raja created the Niyamgiri hills for the tribe to

inhabit.

Much like the beliefs of the Dongria Kondh, other tribes of Orissa have an innate

connectedness with their environment, worshipping the elements of nature and cohabiting

with all creatures, believing that the hills, forests and rivers are their gods, siblings and

parents. The very essence of their existence is in connection to these elements of nature. As

Wong (2008) observes, “for indigenous peoples, land has a sacred quality, is revered and

respected and is inalienable.”

The opening up of Orissa‟s natural resources has both ecological and social implications. The

various industrial plants spread across the state have polluted rivers, streams and wells that

are the lifeblood of tribal peoples who have depended on these sources of water for

generations. The setting up of industrial plants in these regions has also led to displacement

of tribal peoples. Displacement itself comes with both visible and invisible costs. The visible

costs can be addressed perhaps with monetary factors. The invisible factors, however, which

include emotional, cultural, social and spiritual dislocation, are complex, incalculable and

cannot be repaired with any material replacement.

Maitreyee Mishra, Communicating the Environment: The Case of Orissa 8

Such displacement often creates a state of vulnerability for these peoples, for their sense of

self, their identities are uprooted, and they have been reduced to the status of outsiders in the

land to which they belonged to and understood. They are further dislocated through

displacement from “resource-rich” “to marginal lands” (Wong, 2008).

Stories of displacement are not new in Orissa. Hirakud Dam, constructed in 1956 in Orissa‟s

Sambalpur district submerged 249 villages in the district (Baboo, 1997). In 1945, when the

dam‟s site was decided, people of Sambalpur launched a campaign against the dam to protest

against the destruction of these villages and cultivable lands (Baboo, 1992). The people‟s

protests were “calmed down by the ruling Congress both by force and persuasion (through)

compensation, i.e. land for land and house for house” (Nanda and Tripathy, 1987 cited in

Baboo, 1997). Baboo (1997) observes that the government had promised rehabilitation in the

form of colonies but people were not interested in moving to the camps; displaced people had

the option of either moving to "old established villages" or remaining in partly submerged

villages. He notes that resettled tribal people, who had been given very little compensation

from the government, suffered from not being able to adjust to their new surroundings and

could not get employment. Those who had shifted to already existing villages continued to be

viewed as outsiders. Other incidents of displacement include tens of thousands of people

displaced as a result of the steel plant constructed at Rourkela post India‟s independence.

Since the 1990s, with the increase of mining and industrial activities across these tribal belts,

many communities have been displaced. With the intensive liberalisation of Orissa‟s

economy and the extensive inflows of investment, there has been groundswell of resistance

against such displacement by several adivasi communities, grassroots organisations and an

interwoven network of national, international support organisations and human rights groups.

Maitreyee Mishra, Communicating the Environment: The Case of Orissa 9

The Forest Rights Act (FRA), which was instituted in December 2006 and came into force in

December 2007, makes it mandatory to receive the consent of the village Gram Sabha2 for

any land acquisition (Hindustan Times, 2010; Government of India, 2006). The Forest Rights

Act brought some relief to tribes and other forest dwellers across the country whose rights to

the land which they have inhabited and depended for generations were reinstated.

Following are the three case studies- Tata‟s steel plant at Kalinganagar; Posco‟s proposed

steel plant at Paradip and UK-based Vedanta Resources‟ bauxite plant at

Lanjigarh/Niyamgiri.

Case study 1: Kalinganagar

The Kalinganagar Industrial complex has its beginnings to the 1990s economic reforms.

Strategically advantageous, Kalinganagar is located near iron and chromite mines and has the

highest concentration of manganese and iron (Pandey, 2008). Kalinganagar industrial

complex spans some 12,000 acres of land and covers 83 revenue villages (Pandey, 2008).

The Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation of Orissa (IDCO) was given the task

of acquiring land and developing infrastructure for the proposed industrial complex at

Kalinganagar in order to attract investors (Pradhan, 2006). IDCO started acquiring land in the

year 1992-94 and had purchased land from people with proper title deeds (patta) at the rate of

Rs.15,000 to Rs. 30,000 per acre in the initial acquisition phase (Pradhan, 2006). As the tribal

people who had been cultivating most of those lands for generations had no title deeds, most

of the land acquired was dubbed as government land. Those with deeds were compensated; a

huge proportion of people were left uncompensated (Pradhan, 2006).

2 Gram sabha is a meeting of all adults at the village level.

Maitreyee Mishra, Communicating the Environment: The Case of Orissa 10

Some 12 large and small industrial houses were allotted land in Kalinganagar. This proposed

industrial area has an average concentration of 30 percent of tribal peoples (Pandey, 2008).

Pradhan (2006) observes that IDCO sold these acquired lands to companies at higher prices-

land was sold at Rs. 350,000 per acre to the Tatas in 2004-2005; the company itself was

allotted 1960 acres of land (Pandey, 2008).

The inadequate compensation and problems in addressing rehabilitation issues caused

agitation among the people. They continued to occupy and cultivate their land as they had not

been compensated and had no alternate livelihoods. Pacification efforts by the government

included some additional compensation (Rs. 25,000 per acre) but when the people discovered

that their lands had been sold to industries at higher prices, they were further angered

(Pandey, 2008).

In 2004, the organisation, Visthapan Virodhi Jan Manch (VVJM) was formed to represent the

people affected by the Kalinganagar Industrial Complex. In October 2004 they wrote an open

letter to the Chief Minister of Orissa informing him of their concerns and hardships and laid

down demands for displaced and to-be-displaced people; these included (i) halting

construction in agricultural land, (ii) lease deeds to be given to those settled before 1980, and

(iii) one job per displaced family (Pradhan, 2006).

In October 2005, Tata arrived at the location to construct a boundary wall, resulting in strong

opposition from the people who demanded that they be rehabilitated before being displaced.

Tata postponed the construction till 2nd

January 2006, when they returned to complete the

boundary wall, with the support of the administration and deployment of paramilitary forces.

There was opposition from the tribal people and this resulted in a clash between the forces

and the tribal people, resulting in the deaths of 12 tribal people (including one child) and one

policeman (Down to Earth, 2008; Pandey, 2008; Times of India, 2006).

Maitreyee Mishra, Communicating the Environment: The Case of Orissa 11

The killings at Kalinganagar drew national and international attention to the problems in the

region and there was a condemnation of the event. The killings further provoked the tribal

people and they blocked the Daitari-Paradip express highway which is “considered an

economic lifeline” linking the mineral-rich Jajpur and Keonjhar districts with the port at

Paradip (Down to Earth, 2008). Pandey (2008) observes the killings have made the tribal

people even more determined that the government meets their demands which include that

there be no further displacement and “five acres of land in lieu of land acquired” be given to

them, together with compensation for the families of the dead and injured3. The agitation

continued in low intensity but the government also came down heavily by isolating those who

were protesting.

In April 2010, the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) went on a fact-finding

mission and accused the state government of “thrusting upon industrialisation on tribals” (The

Hindu, 2010a). In October 2010, Tata Steel announced that by March 2014 they would

commission the first phase of the Kalinganagar steel plant (SmartInvestor, 2010).

Case 2: Posco

Pohang Steel Company (Posco), the South Korean steel company signed an MoU with the

Government of Orissa in June 2005 for a steel mill project at Paradip, in Jagatsinghpur

district, with the construction of the plant to begin in 2011 (Mukherjee, 2010). The site

chosen for the project was to displace more than two thousand people. This triggered fear in

the hearts of the villagers at the proposed site for losing their livelihoods and fear of

subsequent environmental destruction. For the last five years, the people of three gram

3 Their demands also include the following: (i) rights over acquired land; (ii) action against officials

“responsible for the killings” and (iii) ban on multinational entry (Pandey, 2006).

Maitreyee Mishra, Communicating the Environment: The Case of Orissa 12

panchayats4 in Jagatsinghpur district have been protesting against what they deem an

“illegal” occupation of their lands. Later in 2005, the people‟s organisation, Posco Pratirodh

Sangram Samiti (PPSS) was formed against the proposed Posco project. In 2006, the Forest

Rights Act was passed. The PPSS held that under the Forest Rights Act, the lands of these

villagers cannot be acquired without their consent as they fall under the “other forest

dwellers” category under the FRA. The PPSS called for negotiations, and declared a blockade

in three gram panchayats (Campaign for Survival and Dignity, 2010). In November 2007 the

PPSS dharna (protest) was attacked by the police (Campaign for Survival and Dignity,

2010). In March 2008, Dhinkia5 Gram Sabha passed a resolution for recognition of its rights

under the Forest Right Acts (Ghosh, 2010).

In December 2009, The Forest Advisory Committee gave the approval for Posco‟s steel plant

(Hindustan Times, 2010). Of the 4000 acres of land required by the company, 2900 acres is

forested area (Mukherjee, 2010). In May 2010 the Orissa government refused to shift the site

of Posco‟s plant and asked the villagers to reconsider the rehabilitation package (The Hindu,

2010b).

The protests continued and there were more attacks on protestors in May 2010, where several

protesters were injured (Campaign for Survival and Dignity, 2010). In August 2010, the

acquisition work was halted as a result of a report by a central government committee (NC

Saxena Committee) to look at the implementation of the Forest Rights Act (Hindustan Times,

2010). In November 2010, this committee “confirmed” that the Forest Rights Act had been

violated by the Orissa government through the acquisition of land for Posco‟s project. The

government has not yet made a concrete decision on whether to go ahead with the project or

not.

4 Village/town level local governments. 5 Dhinkia is a village in Jagatsinghpur that falls under the proposed Posco site.

Maitreyee Mishra, Communicating the Environment: The Case of Orissa 13

Case 3: Niyamgiri and Vedanta

Vedanta Resources, a UK-based mining company signed an MoU with the Government of

Orissa in 2003 to construct an alumina refinery and coal thermal plant at Lanjigarh in

Kalahandi district. The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) gave environmental

clearance to the company to mine on the basis that it will not use forest land. The company

built a refinery at Lanjigarh in 2006. The refinery caused the displacement of over a hundred

families (Survival International, 2010a). Lanjigarh is located at the foot of Niyamgiri hills,

inhabited by the Dongria Kondh tribe. Vedanta wanted to set up an open cast mine in the

Niyamgiri hills by blasting the top of the mountain to extract several million tonnes of

bauxite. Its activities were supported by the Government of Orissa, who saw this as an

opportunity for economic growth.

For the Dongria Kondh tribe, the Niyamgiri hills are Gods. These tribals collect bananas,

roots, vegetables, palm juice, etc., from this mountain. The tribals rose to defend Niyamgiri

from Vedanta by blocking roads. Members of the tribe appealed against Vedanta Resources

to prevent the mining company from destroying their sacred mountain and forests. Their

voices were carried across by grassroots organisations such as Niyamgiri Suraskha Samiti and

international organisations such as Survival International, Action Aid and Amnesty

International. The work of these organisations and the information that flowed about the

community‟s struggles helped draw attention worldwide with local, national and international

media being drawn into the discourse.

Amnesty International blamed Vedanta for violating “human rights to water and health” as a

result of poor waste management and pollution from Vedanta‟s refinery (Amnesty

Maitreyee Mishra, Communicating the Environment: The Case of Orissa 14

International, 2010). The sources of water were also mixed with bauxite dust (Survival

International, 2010a).

In August 2010, the tribe won a victory against Vedanta when India‟s government declared

that Vedanta will not be allowed to mine in the Niyamgiri hills (Survival International,

2010b; Rehman, 2010). In October 2010 the Indian government blocked Vedanta from

expanding its alumina refinery at Lanjigarh, at the foot of the Niyamgiri hills for violating the

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) notification (Times of India, 2010).

Network of people’s voices

The three case studies described above are each different but are examples of people‟s

struggles against corporations. In Orissa, where a large number of tribal people live in areas

of rich natural resources, development has meant the encroachment of their lands and

displacement of their communities.

Unlike the 1950s and 1960s where minority community interests and voices were not

publicised and were ignored to make way for larger national development goals, the last two

decades have seen a shift in both awareness and empowerment of marginalised communities.

Furthermore, there is an understanding of the needs and requirements of such communities

who are themselves at the receiving end of environmental change. The central government‟s

receptivity to tribal communities has definitely seen an improvement: in the case of India the

Forest Rights Act was a step forward. The mainstream perception of tribal peoples has

largely changed- from destroyer of the environment to protector.

The Dongria Kondh were able, through the sustained work of grassroots organisations such

as Friends Association for Rural Reconstruction (FARR), to understand the potentials

Maitreyee Mishra, Communicating the Environment: The Case of Orissa 15

damages of Vedanta‟s actions and to voice out their grievances. These voices were taken to a

different level by several groups of people- activist organisations, NGOs (both national and

international), media organisations and individuals. Niyamgiri‟s case drew a lot of attention

internationally with building of grassroots, local, national and international networks;

advocacy by activist organisations, and perhaps the creation of an understanding of the

environment and these people.

At the state-level, as the Orissa government was sympathetic to Vedanta, it was hard to

receive environmental justice. Vedanta‟s Orissa projects and its marketing of probable

benefits to rural communities in Orissa are well communicated (mis-communicated) through

the company‟s huge hoardings spread across Orissa‟s capital Bhubaneswar and other cities,

saying “mining happiness”. Many groups of people in Orissa‟s capital, Bhubaneswar saw the

agitation of the tribal people at Niyamgiri to be baseless and undermining of Orissa‟s

forthcoming economic growth promised by Vedanta. These arguments are manifested in most

of the mass media, which particularly in the case of Kalinganagar have not been sympathetic

to the people‟s struggles.

Communication has the potential to shape our understanding and perceptions of the

environment and thus define how we behave towards it (Milstein, 2009). The mass media in

general, though somewhat receptive to the needs to these communities, have not been very

representative of these counter development arguments. This is more so among the

mainstream media in Orissa- print and television, where there is a heavy reliance on

government sources of information due to their political lineages and hence little alternative

information available on environmental damage (Mishra, 2008). However, there has been

some coverage given to the Niyamgiri-Vedanta issue over the internet by alternative media

organisations, and thus emerging models of communication in horizontal patterns.

Maitreyee Mishra, Communicating the Environment: The Case of Orissa 16

The Internet has been of great benefit to the PPSS in the anti-Posco struggle and even more

beneficial to Niyamgiri, and therefore it is worth discussing in a bit more detail.

Role of the internet in empowerment and environmental activism

The Internet has been a highly beneficial tool for disadvantaged and marginalised

community-members for spreading information through email, web pages and social

networking websites. The Internet which is considerably cheaper, easily available even in

some remote areas and is not mediated, provides a forum for exchange of information,

finding people and organisations with similar interests and also for networking. Individuals

and small organisations can break through national and international boundaries and make

their voices heard across the world. Those fighting against environmental injustice do not

need to go through the mainstream media to disseminate information (Kutner, 2008). The

“unmediated nature of the Internet,” as stated by Kutner (2008), “can work to the advantage

of traditionally marginalised groups,” helping to create a political space free of media gate-

keeping and profit. Kutner further suggests that power “has been given to relatively

powerless segments of society through the use of Internet-based technologies” just by giving

these groups the opportunity to “create and disseminate information.”

This information can be about a community‟s own problems or about issues grassroots

organisations work with, thus providing a forum for exchange of useful information that

could be beneficial to the organisation's cause. Information about policies and citizen's rights

are also available to those who would like to use this information towards getting

environmental justice. Availability of information over the internet about a particular issue or

problem can in turn help create public opinion across national and international borders.

Maitreyee Mishra, Communicating the Environment: The Case of Orissa 17

In the Niyamgiri case, the Internet has been useful in awareness, advocacy and networking.

Websites such as niyamgiri.net provide a lot of information on the Niyamgiri struggle. Also,

the availability of videos on the Dongria Kondh tribe and their ways of life (such as Survival

International‟s documentary Mine: the Story of a Sacred Mountain) helps audiences relate to

them and hence stresses on the importance of protecting the tribe‟s habitat. There is also a

page on facebook that appeals users to help protect the tribe. Amnesty International‟s report

Don’t Mine Us Out of Existence, on the Dongria Kondh, too, creates an international realm of

opinions on issues pertaining to the tribe and human rights injustices by Vedanta. This was

accompanied by videos uploaded on youtube showing Amnesty activists demonstrating

outside Vedanta Resources office in London. There were also some discourses online and

comparisons with the Hollywood movie, Avatar directed by James Cameron, largely owing

to Survival International‟s campaigns that compared the Dongria Kondh to the Na’vi tribe in

the movie.

An overview of Internet content shows that in the case of the Dongria Kondh, there was a lot

of stress on their ways of living, their spirituality and connection with their mountain, self-

sustenance and inherent need for protection of the tribe and its sacred mountain.

The anti-Posco struggles in Jagatsinghpur and the Kalinganagar issue have not had the

fortune of receiving so much coverage on the Internet in mainstream news media or blogs.

Neither of these has had any international-level documentaries made on them.

The Posco issue was more read about and heard widely, thanks to the work of the

organisation, Posco Pratirodh Sangram Samiti (PPSS), which even circulated its press

release and letters to the Minister for Environment, Jairam Ramesh online (Kafila, 2010) and

also published appeals online (http://indigenouspeoplesissues.com). The organisation has also

published their appeal on Facebook.

Maitreyee Mishra, Communicating the Environment: The Case of Orissa 18

The flow of information and communication between these grassroots organisations and local

NGOs is worth noticing, with PPSS and VVJM (Kalinganagar) even coming together to share

commonalities in their struggles against corporations and displacement. Networks have been

built between these and other similar local and national organisations, creating a web of

horizontal communications. Similarly, there has been a flow of information upwards from

local to national and international levels, thus affecting knowledge and understanding, and

inherently helping create a wider solidarity towards their cause.

Conclusions

The debate of the environment and the rights of tribal peoples has been heavily contrasted

with the intense desire of the Orissa government to develop. That explains the government's

urges to tribal people in many parts of Orissa to accept the rehabilitation packages in order to

allow for the construction of steel plants, opening of mines, and other industrial projects. This

has been a step grossly neglecting the needs of the environment and the interests of the tribal

communities who are a part of that environment and are dependent on it. These tribal

peoples, ironically, are not the ones who pose a threat to the environment, but instead are at

the receiving end of all environmental conflicts.

There is no doubt from the examples in this paper, that people can stand up to corporations

and affect the course of environmental justice. In Kalinganagar, despite Tata Steel‟s

persistent efforts at wooing people through large-scale welfare activities and Self-Help

Groups (SHGs), the people have been resilient and their struggles have continued. The case

of Niyamgiri stands out to demonstrate the power of people over corporations with the

Dongria Kondh tribe standing up against Vedanta and demanding that their sacred lands be

saved.

Maitreyee Mishra, Communicating the Environment: The Case of Orissa 19

At the heart of all tribal peoples‟ debates is the environment. These voices are calling out for

two things: protection of their environment and protection of their communities, culture and

livelihoods attached to that very environment.

What is clear is that there are alternative voices that demand that they be heard, that their

problems and issues be addressed. There is persistence in their struggles, and these struggles

draw in people from local, national and international realms, creating networks of people that

have the power to affect change.

Pluralism as environmental philosophy

This paper hence calls for pluralism: the respect of life in all its forms; the respect of peoples

and their human rights; respect of diversity and multiplicity of cultures, thoughts and ways of

living. The concept of pluralism entails that we recognise the needs of tribal communities

themselves and hence do not lay down an imposition of mainstream political, economic and

social motives.

I would like to extend pluralism to environmental discourse as well. Environment movements

have indeed shaped our understanding of the Earth in various political and social dimensions.

As explored earlier in this paper, indigenous peoples have had their own notions of their

environment- and as they live in it, they respect and treat the rivers, hills, mountains and the

various creatures that live in it with respect and reverence. We have something to learn from

them; in order to protect our planet from the destruction caused by the patterns of our ways of

living- excess production and consumption of things we may even not need, we must give

way to alternate lifestyles, alternate thinking We throw so much waste into the “pristine”

Maitreyee Mishra, Communicating the Environment: The Case of Orissa 20

Earth hoping that somehow they will disappear. The discourses around protecting the planet

have continued but have not yet come out with solutions to our environmental problems

These tribal people who may not possess all the things we do, however, know more about the

Earth: how to take just what is needed from the Earth‟s resources; how to protect and respect

the trees and rivers for the future, and so on. That is what we can learn from them- by letting

them choose what kind of life they would like to live.

Lastly, the paper, drawing up from the discourses on Orissa‟s environment and development

calls for a rethinking of development based on extraction of natural resources. Sadly, climate

change is not avoidable, and it is not possible to continue exploiting the Earth without any

further consequences. Orissa‟s climate has undergone rapid changes and a climate

catastrophe may not be far. The ones that have the most to suffer from such climatic changes

have been and will continue to be the poor and the vulnerable. Therefore, there is a need for

focus on environment and climate change mitigation in policy frameworks and practice,

rather than blind economic growth that has no regard for the environment.

The philosophies of the Native Americans, perhaps among all others, display a plethora of

wisdom on the Earth and the relationship between humans and the various elements of

nature. These bits of wisdom perhaps can serve as a reminder for immediate action and a

rethinking of political, economic and environmental ethics, policies and practices:

Only when the last tree has died,

And the last river has been poisoned,

And the last fish has been caught,

Will we realise that we cannot eat money.

-Cree Proverb

Maitreyee Mishra, Communicating the Environment: The Case of Orissa 21

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